I have a 1990 dodge dakota sport with a 2.5 it stalls randomly and wont start until it sits for a few minutes. when it does die i still have fuel but no spark. all ignition parts have been replaced i.e. coil distributor plugs wires caps asd relay. vehicle does not have a crank sensor which is the only other thing i could think of. any help would be greatfully appreciated

Every engine has to have a way to know where the cylinders are and thus when to fire the spark plugs. Since your engine does not have a crankshaft sensor, the only means that the onboard computer has to know where the crankshaft is would be the sensor in the base of the distributor. This sensor monitors the position of the camshaft and thus can ascertain the position of the crankshaft as well. This, or the computer itself is the most likely culprit if you are failing to get spark.

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I had a similiar problem, found the solution there. It was the wiring harnes on the drivers side under the hood, just above the wheel well. there are a cluster of wires in a bundle. I unpacked the bundle carefuly and sure enough the were two or three wires all coroded, had wite powder from corosion. repaired the connections and bingo. I posted details at dodgeforums.com. browse around there. I posted pictures as well. this is a common problem.

First of all let's explain how the spark gets to the plugs. There is a crankshaft position sensor and a cam sensor. They are what determines when to fire the coils and injectors. The crank sensor is located on the passenger side on top of the bellhousing, the cam sensor is the pickup plate in the distributor. As the engin turns the send refernece pulses to the computer which grounds and ungrounds the ignition coil causing it to discharge and send voltager from the secondary coil wire to the center tower in the distributor cap. The rotor button recieves the voltage and distributes it to the 6 towers (1 for each cylinder) If you say you're getting spark from the rotor that tells me the primary side of the ignition system is working, and the secondary side is working into the distributor cap. I'd check for spark out of the plug wires at the plugs. Pull a wire and insert a #2 phillips screwdriver into it, hol the shaft of the screwdriver aprox 1/8"(no more) from the exaust manifold and observe the spark as someone turns over the engine. You should see a nice blue spark. If theres spark, spray a little gum cutter in the throttle body an crank it, if it fires you have a fuel problem. Install a fuel pressure gauge on the schrader valve on the fuel rail and observe it as you crank it. If theres no fuel pressure maks sure there's fuel in the tank, if so climb underneath and beat on the bottom of the tank with a rubber hammer, the pump may be going bad, sometimes you can jar them and make them run.

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The key is to figure out if you're losing spark,fuel, or both.Next time it quits,see if if you smell raw fuel at the tailpipe.(this would mean ignition issue).If not,you may be losing the crank signal.If it happens while your moving,you may be able to recreate it sitting still.Try starting it up and wiggling connectors,wires,etc.Also try thumping sensors lightly to see if this will make it happen(use a high tech tool,like an old mop handle!).This is simply a way of attempting to make the condition occur like it would over a bump or rough surface.I figured out an intermittent miss on a 2.0 liter Turbo Grand Am by doing this(several techs at several dealers had replaced an insane amount of stuff trying to fix it,including our own shop foreman!).All of that for a broken injector wire!

Just a thought! There is a provision where when fuel pressure drops the ignition is shut off. This is to prevent pumping when the fuel line is compromised. Monitor fuel pressure to see if it drops during normal operation.

yes it can but you may have a coolant temp sensor acting up which causes the computer to open the injectors to much which can also cause this 02 sensor code. when it stalls do u have spark and fuel pressure.